A Cup A Day: Controlling Cups on Counters

With all of the kids home for summer vacation, the number of cups around the kitchen have gotten out of hand. Remember the movie Signs? The little girl spent all day taking a single sip of water before setting the glass down wherever she happened to be. That was my house… multiplied. When you have to run the dishwasher twice a day, it’s time to get crafty.

Scene from ‘Signs‘ (or in my case, ‘Signs you need to do something about this mess’)

A Visual Aid

I’m hoping a visual aid on our island/counter will help the kids remember:

Which cup belongs to them (no need to share germs if we can help it).

Where their cup is at.

They should only use one cup a day.

Controlling the Cups Chaos

Divided Baskets. Hobby/Home Stores sell a variety of baskets, including divided/partitioned baskets, that will hold a cup easily.

Click Picture for link to At Home.

I was looking for a basket deep enough to hold a cup without the risk of tipping; something that would be easy to clean in the event of a spill; something that could be easily marked with initials or names. The above basket costs $10, but of course I had to buy two.

Super Monograms

At first, I simply wrote the first initial of the kids’ names on the metal cup holder with a permanent marker. Somewhere along the way, I got bored and decided to make things a little more interesting for them. [PROTIP: Noxima Face Pads took the marker right off the metal, so correcting mistakes was easy.] Hopefully, this will increase the chances of them wanting to use their cup holder.

Finished Cup Basket

When I finished decorating the cups, I wired the two baskets together. It may not be Pinterest worthy, but it’s functional!

So you want Pinterest Worthy?

Lots of moms struggle with this issue, so I’ve included more cute solutions below.

Wine bottle.My Sister’s Suitcase on Pinterest re-purposed a wine bottle holder to use as cup holders. The arts & crafts involve painting, making monogram magnets, and a removable tray. A little too crafty for my limited skills, but it looks great on the counter.

Click image for link to My Sisters Suitcase

Monogramed Coasters.Momcrieff found clear coasters to monogram. I love this simple solution, but I envision the coasters getting lost and broken at my house.

Click image for link to Momcrieff

Special Cups. I’ve seen sites that advocate color-coded cups or sell cute cups that magnetically stick to your fridge. I’ve never tried this because it requires buying too many new sets of cups for all my kids.

Bathroom Cups. My mom has a cute little paper cup dispenser that the kids use when we swarm her house. I’ve tried doing the same thing in the past, but we ran out of paper cups almost every other day. And for some reason, the kids can ONLY find the trashcan at grandma’s house.

Fingers Crossed

Hopefully, this system will cut down on the number of cups used each day (and the number of times we need to run the dishwasher). Of course, someone grabbed an oversized mug and was surprised when it didn’t fit, but she gets points for trying the new system!

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The Taco Mom

Sharing strategies that have worked (and haven't worked) to help families find the joy in their everyday chaos.

4 Comments

Ashleigh Hall

I bought a pack of “cup markers” which are little colored umbrellas that clip to the lip of the cup. We’ve been doing this for a few months now, it works as long as I remind the kids to grab an umbrella when it’s time for a new cup.

Thank you I love this idea. My only problem is we have very limited counter space. But I will think on it and come up with something because I’m sick of it too. We got rid of a bunch of cups thinking if they only used one it would be easier but then they lose the one and they have no cups. I use one cup every day all day and I don’t see why it’s so hard. I mostly drink water but if I have something else, I wash it.

I used to put coloured elastic bands around each cup: blue for the boy, red for the girl. I have 2 kids and a husband and the amount of drinking glasses they go through in a day will send me straight to the looney bin. 🙃😉😁🙄

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About The Taco Mom

Mom of Seven’s Parenting and Family Blog is for all parents who are out-numbered by their kids. My goal is to help parents feel less overwhelmed and better equipped to find joy in their daily lives, through sharing what has (and has not) worked for me. I am a Catholic stay-at-home mother and wife with a degree in Psychology.